


Take My Hand, Let's Depart

by Mamichigo



Series: We're all broke and tired (college au) [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, M/M, POV Alternating, Road Trip, for both ships, so if you want ship content sorry but there's not much of it here, the ships are there but it's not the focus of the fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-04-01 01:58:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13988073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mamichigo/pseuds/Mamichigo
Summary: Spending hours inside a car together is one way to deepen the bonds you have with your friends.Or something like that.





	Take My Hand, Let's Depart

**Author's Note:**

> For Serena.  
> This was the last fic I decided to write for you, and I was unsure of what to make it about. I ended up with this, so take it as representation of all the fun I have with you, even when we're doing the stupidest shit.

Kaito is going to strangle the little gremlin.

Harumaki, Akamatsu and Shuichi make up a little circle as they talk to each other, probably taking rational decisions like (more or less) responsible adults. Meanwhile, Kaito is stuck with the midget of the group; according to the others, it’s so he can keep an eye on Ouma, but Kaito knows well that they only wanted to shop without the two of them bothering each five seconds. He would get offended – and he is, for being thrown into the same category as Ouma of all people –, but Kaito was never the type to run away from a challenge. Not even an implicit one.

If they want Kaito to babysit the small nuisance, then he’s going to prove to them he’s perfectly capable of being responsible like the three of them.

Which, in hindsight, was a mistake on his part.

“Put it back,” Kaito commands, hands on his hips and brows furrowed.

Ouma, somehow holding six bottles of Panta in his arms, tilts his head to the side innocently.

“Why? Panta is essential to survive, you know! Then we have to make sure we have enough for the trip,” Ouma explains vehemently.

“Stop messing around, who the hell needs so much soda to survive?! You look like a hungry monster, man, it’s not normal.” Kaito huffs in irritation.

The shorty glances between the bottles and Kaito slowly, face twisting more with each second in sadness, eyes going watery with tears. Oh, no.

“Look, take, like. Two bottles, how’s that? Those bottles are pretty big, you’ll end up turning your entire blood into soda at this rate,” Kaito tries to persuade him, but Ouma doesn’t look all that convinced.

He gives Kaito sad puppy eyes, almost forcing an apology out of him, for some reason.

“I’m not Amami, that look won’t work on me.” It’s partially a lie, but Kaito would never admit it.

“Time for plan b!” Ouma exclaims out of the blue while laughing, despite the tears still clinging to the corner of his eyes.

After that, he starts running between the shelves in the convenience store. Due to the small size of the place, Ouma doesn’t have all that much space to escape, which results in Kaito pursuing him in circles.

Ouma stops, Kaito does too. They stare at each other, and the little gremlin curls his index finger in a “come hither” motion to provoke him. The gesture works perfectly on getting on Kaito’s nerves, so it’s not long before he’s running after Ouma again. Kaito almost trips on his own feet, but let’s not talk about that.

The cashier behind the counter gives them a weird look, seemingly split between smiling at their antics or frowning in disapproval. Kaito offers her a nervous grimace.

“Ouma, if you break something I’m pretty sure you’ll put all the blame on me, so don’t you dare!” The gremlin sticks his tongue out at him in reply. “I’m being serious, I don’t have the money to pay for whatever disaster you cause, you little demon!”

Focused on making stupid faces at Kaito, Ouma doesn’t notice the person in his way, so he ends up bumping rather harshly into Shuichi, who just barely succeeds in keeping both of them from falling. Ouma turns a sweet smile to Shuichi, and he answers with a shier version of the expression.

Lovebirds.

Despite the stupid cuteness of the two, Kaito doesn’t hesitate to hold Ouma by his stupid checkered scarf, to the other’s irritation. The shorty hisses threateningly, glaring at Kaito and squeezing the bottles of Panta tighter in his arms.

Kaito raises a skeptical eyebrow, not intimidated by the display, and stretches a hand to snatch one of the bottles away. Shuichi opens his mouth to say something, looking worried, but he doesn’t have the chance to listen to what he says before Ouma bites Kaito’s fingers.

Kaito squeaks in pain and frantically pulls his hand away from Ouma, staring at the teeth marks on his fingertips in disbelief.

“What the hell, are you a dog or something?” He complains, rubbing the hurt skin.

Ouma smiles wickedly, like the little demon he is. Shuichi, for his part, just sighs.

“Kokichi, it’s better if you put some of these back. We don’t have enough space in the cooler,” Shuichi calmly tells him.

Kokichi puffs out his cheeks like a petulant child, but nods in agreement.

“Fiine,” he says, sounding mildly annoyed.

Kaito gapes at him, indignation written all over his face.

“This is so unfair, why didn’t you listen to me when I asked, dude?”

Kokichi pouts.

“You’re not Shumai. Besides, it’s way too much fun annoying you, Momota!” Ouma tells him, walking back to the fridge with a spring in his step.

Shuichi pats Kaito’s shoulder in sympathy.

Later, when Kaito is handing all of their items to the cashier, there’s definitely more candy than it should have. Kokichi whistles from where he’s standing alongside Akamatsu, “innocently” pulling the girl’s attention away from what’s going on. Even with Kaito shooting daggers at him, Ouma simply offers him a peace sign while grinning.

Kaito is going to strangle him for sure.

* * *

 

 

They’ve been on the road for almost three days now. The motel where they planned to spend the night had been closed a few weeks ago, and the information had yet to be updated on the internet. So, when they stop by, the group only finds an abandoned building.

Kaede watches as her friends have different reactions to the confinement. Momota complains about how he wants to take a shower, Shuichi has been staring out the window longingly, Maki is quieter than usual, while Kokichi seems to be a second away from vibrating out of his skin.

Kaede herself isn’t in better condition than Kokichi is, so she had to ask Maki to drive in her place, and her girlfriend is clearly glad to have an excuse to not pay attention to any of them, or even talk at all.

So, the blonde taps her fingers on the car’s door, counts how many drivers they pass, changes the radio station each three seconds. The radio mostly gives her white noise, out of reach for most stations besides a few ones that play obscure old songs which sounds like the kind of thing you’d hear as you are initiated into a satanic cult.

She would put on her own songs, but after yesterday’s competition having ended with Toxic by Britney Spears being blasted at full volume as Koichi yelled the lyrics along with it, Kaede doesn’t want to risk the same happening. Not that she would mind, given how restless she is, but Maki and Shuichi would probably be unable to take one more round of that madness. And Kaede would rather avoid deaths during the trip.

Fact is, they’re all collectively unhappy about their current situation, and so Kokichi yells at them to stop the car half an hour later. Kaede is surprised it took him so long to react like that, since he’s managed to be more agitated than Kaede herself is.

Maki appears to be just as uninterested as she has shown to be the entire time, but Kaede sees her subtly perk up as the girl comes to the realization that they’re close to a river, and they have the necessary equipment for camping. Hesitantly, Maki nods to Kokichi.

The others accept the idea just as easily, so Kaede doesn’t have any complaints, her girlfriend reaching the same conclusion. So, Maki makes a turn to take an old dirt road so she can stop the car at an open field.

Once they’re all out of the car, groaning and stretching in relief, Kokichi is the first one to run ahead of them, not even pausing when he touches Maki’s arm.  
  
“Tag, you’re it!” He shouts over his shoulder, escaping from the rest of group.

The mature reaction would be to ignore the game, but her friends were never known for actually acting like adults. Momota is the first one to follow after Kokichi, though his motivation is probably his refusal to lose to the smaller one. Shuichi, then, goes after the two, calling their name with a tinge of worry in his voice.

Kaede glances at Maki, who does the same.

Kaede breaks into a sprint, with Maki hot on her heels. The blonde laughs loudly and tries to beg Maki for mercy.

“Please, Maki, I’m your girlfriend! You wouldn’t make me be it, right?” She insists, running as fast as she can.

“There’s no place for love in a war,” Maki says back, voice serious. Kaede, however, knows how much she’s having fun just from the way the red in her eyes shine brighter than normal.

“You’re so cold, Maki!”

Kaede, busy giggling and trying to control herself, can barely walk. She holds her sides, eyes shut tight; her steps get slow because of it, giving Maki the opening to get closer and catch Kaede in her arms.

Kaede kisses the tip of her nose.

“Hey, Maki, I didn’t say it before, but… Thank you for coming. I know it’s not easy for you to be surrounded by people sometimes.” Kaede smiles gently.

“Ouma is an annoying little shit when he wants something, but with Shuichi pretending he isn’t bracing himself for rejection it’s even more irritating,” she replies with a sigh.

“And not to mention my incredible persuasion skills!” Kaede raises her arms and pumps her fists in the air enthusiastically.

“You mean the puppy eyes?”

“It works, doesn’t it?” Kaede teases, but there’s a bit of an embarrassed blush on her cheeks.

Maki smiles and shakes her head, looking to the side thoughtfully.

“They’re… My friends, too,” Maki says like it’s a confession. “I can take a few days of the four of you getting on my nerves, to compensate for the rest of the year.”

“College sucks! We barely see each other now because of it, it’s so unfair!” She pouts with a whine. It is ridiculous that they are now forced to only be get together during special occasions, when they aren’t all busy.

Maki kisses her cheek in consolation. Before Kaede can reciprocate the gesture, the other girl is already pulling away, leaving a confused Kaede staring at her.

“You’re it,” she says, already running.

“Maki, how cruel!”

* * *

 

  
Except for the glow of the headlights and the rare street lights showing the road ahead of them, their surroundings are completely dark. The low visibility makes Kaede nervous, fingers tightening on the wheel in anxiety.

She glances at Maki, finding her asleep on the passenger seat, head lolling to the side enough for her forehead to touch her shoulder. Kaede winces as she imagines how uncomfortable the position is. How her girlfriend can sleep like that, Kaede doesn’t know.

Next, she uses the rearview mirror to see her friends in the backseat. Kaito is resting against Shuichi’s shoulder, head tipped back and mouth gaping open, softly snoring. Shuichi, then, has his cheek squished against the top of Kaito’s head, a small track of saliva on the corner of his mouth. Kaede giggles to herself, the scene comical, but at the same time filling her chest with affection. If she wasn’t concentrating on not letting the death machine crash, Kaede would take a picture as a memento.

And for blackmail.

In contrast with the two relaxed and asleep boys, Kokichi has his chin on his palm, face to the window, body perfectly – and unnaturally – still. Despite his slow breath and closed eyes, Kaede can easily tell he’s still awake.

Her fingers tap on the steering wheel, eyes focused on the darkness ahead.

“Can’t sleep?” Kaede asks quietly, so as to not disturb the rest of the group.

“You could say that,” Kokichi replies in the same tone. When he talks like that, however, it sounds like he’s letting Kaede in on a secret.

“What does that mean?” Kaede laughs.

Kokichi doesn’t reply right away, only the murmur of the car engine and the whistling of the wind outside whispering something to her that she can’t quite understand. It’s not all that different from Kokichi’s words, always covered by layers upon layers of lies and enigmas.

“Oh, you know how it is.” She doesn’t. Kaede raises an eyebrow. “Thinking.”

The answer doesn’t surprise Kaede in the least; it doesn’t say anything, but there’s a hint of something behind it, just waiting for Kaede to understand. What she does know is that her friend, for as long as the blonde has known Kokichi, always had a bad case of insomnia and a mind that rarely ever stopped.

She wonders what kind of thoughts is plaguing him, this time.

“Did you talk to Rantaro?” She asks cautiously.

He groans in a way that almost manages to sound like a noise of agreement.

“Kinda. You know how Rantaro is with his stupid mountains, I could barely talk to him. After I went through the hassle of calling him!” Kokichi complains, pouting in irritation.

“Oh, got it. We should try calling him together tomorrow when we have better signal,” Kaede suggests with a smile.

“Hm, okay! We can try. If he doesn’t pay attention to what I’m saying again, I’ll smash his head in next time we see him!”

Kokichi sounds petulant and detached, but Kaede recognizes the tone to be the one he uses when he’s trying to cover how much something truly upsets him.

Shuichi, even asleep, seems to notice the same, brows furrowing at the same time a string of gibberish comes out of his mouth. The boy reaches a hand in his direction and Kokichi, fearing his boyfriend might wake up, holds it in his. The smaller one kisses Shuichi’s cheek to reassure him.

A hard to decipher look settles on his face, the light outside not helping as it envelops Kokichi in shadows. He stays silent for a few long seconds.

“Shuichi was excited to have all of us together, you know,” Kochi says, indifferent, almost cold.

However, Kaede isn’t discouraged by the comment, especially when she manages to see right through him.

“The same goes for you, doesn’t it? I mean, you’re the one who came up with the idea and insisted on it so much,” she cheerfully points out.

Even in the poor lighting, Kaede sees Kokichi’s pale cheeks go red, his eyes averted and stubbornly staring out the window.

“Only because Shumai wanted to see your guys’ stupid faces so much!” Kaede laughs at the lack of a real insult in his sentence, something common when he’s talking about someone in his friend group.

“Admit it, you missed me, didn’t you, Kokichi?” She teases, unable to stop herself as she watches Kokichi struggling to pretend he doesn’t care about any of them.

“Hah, I just missed you sneaking the goodies to me. Shumai and Rantaro won’t let me have any sweets because it’s ‘not good for my stomach’,” he makes air quotes as he says that, while also rolling his eyes.

There’s a beat of silence. Then, the two of them start laughing, though it comes out as breathy gasps, since they’re trying to keep the noise down.

“So I’m your candy dealer?” Kaede asks with difficulty, due to her own laughter.

“Absolutely, why else would I be your friend?” Kokichi replies with fake disdain. Just the way he directly says they’re friends is already a big deal.

Kaede almost cries on the spot.

“Next time, we’ll tie Rantaro up and drag him into the car so we can have everyone here. Sounds like a good plan?”

She beams, and Kokichi lets his mask down enough to smile with the same enthusiasm.

“Perfect.”  


* * *

  
  
They stop at a temple.

Unlike the camping they did the other day, this stop was actually planned. If it wasn’t, Maki doubts they’d have found the place otherwise, since the building is hidden by tall trees. So, despite not being able to see their goal, the five of them follow the track with the help of their GPS and the not so visible signs scattered along the path.

The place in itself is pretty, painted in forest green and the bright colors of the flowers, the tree tops opening to reveal the clear blue sky and letting the sunlight in, just making the scene more picturesque. Coming from the distance, Maki hears the sound of a running river.

However, there’s something unnerving about the landscape, keeping Maki alert to a danger that most likely does not even exist. Even so, she can’t stop looking over her shoulder, nor can she help thinking that the chirps of the birds are some kind of warning.

Maybe it’s just an instinctive reaction to a sacred place that has her so on edge, but no rational thoughts are able to dissuade her anxiety.

Kaede, Shuichi and Momota walk ahead, talking amongst themselves quietly – due being in a temple –, as they get ready to pay their respects and offer a prayer. Kaede wordlessly looks to her in a question; Maki shakes her head, so her girlfriend nods in understanding and keeps on walking.

Maki considers just sitting down to relax for a few minutes, but a quick glance around brings her to the realization that Ouma is nowhere to be found. She sighs. Leaving him to his thing _is_ an option – maybe he’d fall into the river and come back drenched and fuming –, but if the idiot gets hurt, the entire rest of the group would get worried and anxious because of him. Maki has no patience to take care of four nervous children.

With that thought in mind, Maki assigns herself the task of finding Ouma and making sure he’s not doing something stupidly reckless or preparing yet another prank. Maki isn’t, and never will be, in the mood for being banned from one more place because of Ouma.

Wandering in the woods doesn’t sound all that appealing, given her current paranoia, so Maki is thankful when she doesn’t need to walk far to catch sight of Ouma, sat on the pebbles covered ground just behind the building.

There’s a small pound there, the clear water revealing a few koi fishes swimming lazily, while other smaller species zooms past them. Some of them are gathered around Ouma’s feet, which are dipped into the water.

“Trying to feed the fish?” Maki asks sarcastically.

She approaches him with cautiousness, keeping herself at a safe distance. The chances of getting pushed into the pound if she gets too close are way too high, so Maki is not risking it. The smaller one seems to notice her actions, smiling in amusement.

“I was trying to be a good a person and feed them, but I don’t think fishes like Panta! Well, their loss.” He shrugs. “Anyways, I decided that’ll sacrifice myself for the fishes. I’ll get devoured at any time now, how scary!”

If Momota was there, he’d surely make a joke about vore. Maki, instead, just raises an eyebrow.

“Okay, have fun,” she says drily. Ouma sticks his tongue out at her.

The boy swings his feet back and forth, scaring the fishes away, their body quickly taking them far from the source of the disturbance.

“So, why are you here with me, instead of, I don’t know, making kissy faces to your girlfriend or something like that?” The question is obviously a provocation, but Maki barely reacts besides two consecutive blinks.

“I could ask you the same,” she throws back. “I’d expect you to be glued to Shuichi’s arm, instead pretending to be fish food.”

Ouma pouts at her words.

“Don’t underestimate me, I’d be doing that all while annoying Momota! I’m great at multitasking.”

Maki sighs again. She can easily see he’s distracting her so he can change the subject, and it’s so painfully obvious she almost decides to just walk away and act like he isn’t even there. In the past, she would have done it, without hesitation.

The fishes keep on swimming, and Maki crouches down and observes them – still keeping her distance, of course.

“I don’t like religious places, they make me feel weird,” Ouma casually admits, and Maki raises her head at just how easily he gave the information away.  
It’s also unexpected, for them to be outside for similar reasons.

Maki must have left something show in her expression, since Ouma smiles like he just heard a big secret.

“You too, huh? Now I get it!” He exclaims, playing with his own hair absentmindedly. Maki frowns. “No need to give me such a scary look, you know! It’s not a lie, it’s just a coincidence that it’s the same as you.”

Usually, Maki would be suspicious of any supposed coincidences when Ouma is involved, but she’s willing to let it pass this time.

“If you tell Kaede anything, I’ll strangle you.”  
Ouma laughs at the threat.

“I know, if I say anything she’s gonna feel guilty for bringing us here without asking and act like a kicked puppy for hours, not to mention the constant apologizing.” He scrunches up his nose.

The answer is enough for Maki. Ouma might love to get on her nerves, but he rarely did anything that could directly hurt Kaede in any way.  
Silence falls over them. The honesty from moments ago seems to be his limit, but the fact that he said the truth to Maki, of all people, has more meaning than she’d like to think about.

The knowledge that the person by her side feels the same as her, and, therefore, understands without asking any unnecessary questions is a relief to Maki, and it allows her to relax. That, she knows, is not a coincidence.

The peaceful moment is, however, interrupted by a sudden splash of water hitting her square on the face. Maki would be angry, if the action isn’t completely expected from someone like Ouma.

She splashes him back.

 

* * *

 

They are at their last stop before heading home. The atmosphere of farewell is almost tangible from the way the group glances at each other, as if taking them in while they still have the time to do so.

The sun setting on the horizon in shades of orange and pink is so fitting to the moment that Shuichi has to wonder if Kaede maybe planned it so they would reach the beach at the perfect time.

He watches as Kokichi inserts himself between Kaede and Maki, wrapping an arm around each of their shoulders to hoist himself into the air. Maki seems to be a second away from stepping to the side and just letting him fall, but the amusement in Kaede’s expression stops her from doing so.

Shuichi smiles to himself.

Meanwhile, he notices that Kaito has decided to go into the ocean, swimming for several minutes before stopping to invite the rest of them to join him. Kaede immediately agrees, turning to the other two like an excited puppy. Maki nods as soon as she sees Kaede’s enthusiasm, but Kokichi clearly isn’t convinced, twisting his face in disgust.

Going by his yells and the way he’s being dragged by the two girls, it’s obvious Kokichi doesn’t get a say in the matter.

Shuichi is content simply watching, too tired to join the group. The white sand isn’t exactly comfortable on his skin, but Shuichi doesn’t mind. He dips the beach hat on his head further down so it protects him from the sunlight, and then rests his cheek on top of his own knees. Shuichi’s eyes don’t close entirely, so he can still look at the horizon through his eyelids, despite his own eyelashes obscuring part of his vision.

Shuichi probably falls asleep without meaning to, the ocean breeze kissing his skin and the sound of the waves lulling him to a light doze. Distantly, Shuichi reflects on how he’s letting the remaining time with his friends just go by. Even so, the boy doesn’t move, stuck somewhere between consciousness and sleep.

That’s possibly the reason why, upon hearing his own name being called, Shuichi jumps in surprise, letting out an embarrassingly sharp squeak. He tips his head up to see Kaito, who is hysterically laughing.

“Oh, man, you had to see your face!” Kaito tells him, trying to get his own laughter under control.

With his head properly raised, Shuichi now notices that Kaito isn’t alone; Kokichi, sat atop his shoulders, is asleep with his cheek on Kaito’s head. Shuichi doesn’t even question what the smaller one is doing up there.

“I thought you guys went swimming?” Shuichi asks in a quiet voice, still embarrassed about his reaction from before.

“Shuichi, that was, like, half an hour ago. Were you actually sleeping?”

Now that he mentions it, the sky has indeed gotten darker. Oh.

“Sorry, I think so, but I didn’t mean to,” he explains. “Where are-”

“Harumaki and Akamatsu? Went ahead to look for seashells, they’re waiting for us. I’m here to get you, after all.” He shrugs.

“O-Oh, you guys should have gone without me!”

“Well, the little gremlin is already grumpy because Amami couldn’t come, if you stayed here all by yourself, he’d probably get angry and kick _my_ shins. That shit hurts, man!” Kaito smiles. “Besides, it’s not the same without you.”

The boy turns his eyes to the ground, feeling indirectly scolded. It wasn’t Kaito’s intention, as Shuichi knows that if his friend had something to say, he’d be straightforward about it. But the fact is that, even after so much time of friendship, Shuichi still acted like he wasn’t part of the group – or, at least, not an important one. It was a habit that he needed to break, and Shuichi was perfectly aware of that.

“Dude, I can see the gears in your head turning from here. Don’t overthink it, let’s just go. The girls won’t be waiting forever, y’know,” Kaito insists.

Shuichi nods with a small smile.

“Yeah, of course. You know how impatient Kaede is, I don’t wanna risk getting body slammed by her,” he jokes (or not; Kaede is the type who’d do something like that).

“Oh, yeah, by the way. What’s with the hat? I don’t remember you having one of those.” Kaito points to said object on top of his head.

“Kokichi made me wear it. He said my ‘emo hat’ doesn’t suit the beach.” Shuichi pauses and glances at Kaito’s shoulders. “I think your accessory is more surprising than mine.”

The taller boy seems confused for a second, as if he had just forgotten he has a person on his back. Then, he points to Kokichi in realization.

“He was being a pain in my ass, telling me to carry him. Then he just fell asleep, the idiot.” Kaito huffs in aggravation, but Shuichi can see he’s not actually bothered by it.

Observing how his friend holds on to Kokichi with firm hands, but still being careful enough to not hurt him and how he periodically adjusts the small boy so Kokichi’s head won’t slip from his head, Shuichi smiles. Small details like these only make Shuichi happy and fond as he realizes their group has slowly grown closer.

“Kaito, could it be that you’re using Kokichi as an excuse so you don’t have to help with the seashells?” Shuichi innocently asks.

Kaito immediately chokes, sputtering in an attempt to defend himself, but only succeeding in sounding more suspicious. Shuichi laughs.

Consider it payback for before.

Kaito doesn’t have the chance to say anything more, as he’s interrupted by Kaede, who calls their names while waving her arms excitedly. Even Maki has a small smile on her face.

“Shuichi, I was about to drag you with us! This is no time for sleeping!” She complains. Of course she intended to drag him.

“But Kokichi is sleeping, Kaede,” he points out.

Kaede looks from Shuichi to Kokichi, hands on her hips. She stomps towards them with determination and, taking advantage of her own height, she stretches a hand to pinch and pull on Kokichi’s cheek.

The smaller one wakes up with an indignant yelp, the commotion causing him to lose his balance and almost fall from Kaito’s shoulders. The group – except for Maki, who just watches with an exasperated sigh – panics as they try to prevent an accident.

Somehow, all four of them end up on the ground, piled on top of each other. In the perplexed silence that follows their fall, they burst into laughter, at the same time Kokichi complains about someone’s elbow digging into his stomach.

Maki crouches down next to them, and offers a pat to the head in consolation for each of them.

“You’re a bunch of idiots.”

Shuichi looks to the sky, which is quickly going darker to announce the beginning of the night, and keeps on laughing. To the first star that has just appeared above them, he quietly wishes for more moments like these.

**Author's Note:**

> Facts about this fic:
> 
> 1) I wanted to have Amami in it, that's why I ended up mentioning him so much  
> 2) Every character was supposed to appear twice, but I fucked up when I listed the scenes, so Kokichi ended with 3 and shuichi with only 1. I thought of switching the temple scene for a Maki & Shuichi one, but it wouldn't be the same, so I left as it is  
> 3) Fact two is the reason why Shuichi's scene is longer  
> 4) Every character was supposed to have a scene from their pov, the Kaede & Kokichi scene was supposd to be from Kokichi's pov, but I only realized my mistake after writing 3 peragraphs for it. I went with because it fit better  
> 5) The second scene was the last one I wrote, and it ended up rushed. Bc of that, it's my least favorite scene  
> 6) the first scene was originally gonna be the referenced singing competition between kokichi & kaito, but I didn't like how it came out, so I changed it  
> 7) All of the problems happened happened bc I was in a rush to meet my own deadline  
> 8) since I didn't want to struggle to squeeze backstory into the scenes, I used how the characters call each other to show how close everyone is. Shuichi is the only one on first name basis with everyone in the group.
> 
> Well, anyways, that's it!
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: [@mamichigo](https://mamichigo.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Edit: If you're curious about everyone's majors, check the series' description!


End file.
